Tinder-box.



K. WIEDEN.

TINDER BOX.

APPLICATION FILED :uLv s, w11.

Pana Fen 26, 191.21

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3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

K. WIEDEN.

n NnEnox. APPLICATION FILED JULY 9.19II.

Patented Feb.26,191&

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

K. WIEDEN.

TINDER BOX.

APPLxcATloN FILED JuLY s. |911.

Patented Feb. 26,191& l

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ff/)fesses circumference of steel or the like.

ject of my invention is to obtain a considery so . in means for stop ing the liquid UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE. f

KARL WIEDEN, 0F OHLIGS, GERMANY.

TINDEB-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2e, 191s.

i To all whom it may concern.'

Be itvknown that I, KARL WIEDEN, manufacturer, subject of the King of Prussia, German Emperor, residing at Ohligs, in the Province of the Rhine, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in 'Iinder-Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My inventlon relates to impro'ements in and relating to tinder-boxes of that kind, in

which a liquid fuel, such as benzene or the` like, contained in a suitable fountain or reservoir, feeds a wick and is ignited by sparks produced by rubbing a pyrophorous metal of a known kind against a rough-or milleod The o able economy of the fuel in vtinder-boxes and pocket-lamps of the said known kind, the said improvementsbeing equally adapted .to continue the feeding of the liquid fuel to the wick for any suitable length of time,

thus enabling the tinder-box to be employed as a. 1am

I obtaln the purposes set forth b providbeing fed to the wlck from the fountain or reservoir when the tinder-box or lamp is out 'l of use. Such means may be of various kinds and they may be employed in a variety of manner, of which I am going to describe some specimens in the following specification.

In lamps it is known to feed the liquid fuel from the fountain or reservoir to the wick or match of the burner by a separate wick. If I would employ such means I would make the tinder-boxv inoperative, because a surplus" of fuel would be fed to the burning wick, thereby producing an excessive 'lame.

My invention, therefore, consists, according to one modification.g in constructin the tinder-box in such a manner, that vthe fountain or reservoir containing the liquid fuel may be reversed so that, in one position, the

wick-end destined to burn pro]ec'ts lto the outside of the fuel-box, while in the opposite osition said wick-end immerges into the iquid fuel. When out of use, i. e., for lthe l is turned into the opposite position, the wick v contains enough of the fuel for producing a ltice. To make my invention per el from' Haine for a short time. The burner, then, is again reversed into the state of rest. for using the burner Aas a lamp, the position 1s maintained, in which the lower or idle wick-end immerges into the fuel and raises enough of it to roduce a lighting ame.

It will be rea ily understood, that a variety of forms of construction may be executed for carrying the invention into racilectly understood, I have illustrated some forms in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure lshows my improved .device inthe state ofrepose and -Fig. 2 the same in the state of use, both in ,vertical section.

But

Fig. 9 is a section on line A-B of Fig, 7. l

Finally, Figs. 10, 11 and 12 represent a still further construction of my invention in positions similar to those shown in Figs. 7, 8 and 9.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a designates` the fountain containing the liquid fuel; within the lower end of said fountain I, preferably, 'arrange'a sieve or perforated bottom g and a. wick b is guided through said fountain and its stopper and sieve, which wickmay be surrounded by av metal tube, leaving the upper and lower end of the wick unprotected. The said wick b projects into an intermediate chamber c of the burner, said chamber containing wad or any fibrous material' ready for sucking rthe liquid fuel; from said wadding rises the burning-wick d, to which suiiicient fuel is communicated by the imbibed wad. The `means of ignition by a pyrophorous metal are not shown in Figs. 1 and 2, forming no part of this invention.

-\ At or about the middle of the tubular'- burner two studs f project opposite to each other, which studs are cushioned within recesses of a. suitable casing or Vstand of any sl'litable'form which may be placed on a table. The said `studs may be provided with end of saine, the said fuel, then, being at the `top or stopper end of the fountain turned topside down, and no fuel is conveyed by suction from said fountain. The 'sieve or perforated bottom g serves to prevent any fuel from beine' thrown on the projecting end of the wick if the burner becomes shaken or moved.

If the burner is to be used, the saine is turned u into the position shown in Fig.

- tions of the burner and fountain an 2; the uel, then, will Bow down to the bottom of the fountain a and the wick will be immersed and raise sufficient fuel to feed thc burner-wick d. The flame is ignited by striking the pyrophorous metal, not shown,

and the proJecting end of wick d will be lighted, containing a suliicient uantity of fuel from the moistened wad c. fter using the flame, the burner is returned into the position of rest shown in Fig. 1, to prevent any superfluous fuel from being removed from the fountain. position of use shown in Fig. 2, the flame will continue to burn continually fed from the fountain by the suckin l wick b.

Ity will be readil understood, that a similar constructiony of' a reversible burner containing a fuel fountain may be employed to form a lamp which may be suspended to a wall or whiclimay be carried in the pocket. It will only be necessary to provide suitable means for changing the two opposite csi` or keeping the suckingwick b out of reach of the liquid fuel durin the position of rest. In all other respects t e form of the tinderbox may vary,.it ma be round, fiat or take y any suitable shape; a so the mode of ignition ployed a Wick b may vary, it may be performed b a revolving wheel, or by a striking or ru bing construction of any known kind.

Of course, a considerable economy of fuel will be obtained by all such constructions, as no evaporation can occur duringthe state of re se and no vapors can esca e.

n the described construction I have emto convey the fluid fuel from the fountain to the intermediate space vcontaining the wadr c, said wick dipping into the uid onl during the use of the burner. Said wic however, `may be dispensed with and replaced by a ve tubular channel, particularly in suc cases, where the two chambers containing the liquid fuel and the wad are not arranged one small But on retaining the-y as a flame, which is" lserving to let fuel lliquid fuel and cannot pass.

over another but are juxtaposed. The said' are juxtaposed and da small channel b between them is provided,

said channel taking the lowest sition during the state of use, as shown in Fig. 3, to allow the fuel to pass from the fountain a to the wad c through said channel b. On reversing the position, as shown in Fig. 4, the said channel will be placed above the level of the fuel, thereby rendering impossible any over-flow of fuel from the space a to the wad c. A sieve g placed around said channel, will, in this case too, prevent any escape of fuel through' said channel by shak-y thetinder-box. t will be readily seen, that the result of this modified construction will be exactly the same as that described before with reference to Figs. 1 and 2; a great economy of fuel will be obtained by preventing the fuel from evaporation durin the state of repose, and, nevertheless, the tinder-box may be used as a lamp, by simply reversing its position.

l,Instead of leaving the channel b open,a wick or porous material might be placed within said channel for preventing any ready escape of the fuel; or said wick or pad might be placed before the opening of the channel. y

A further modification 0f m invention is illustrated by Figs. 5 and 6. 'Fhis construction serves to facilitate the use of the tinderbox as a lamp, by providing means for a more ready conveyance of the fuel from the fountain a to the wad c, corresponding to the continued consumption of fuel.

Said means consist in providing two channels, b and f, in the partition between the two chambers a andV c, the one channel b, pass from the fountain a to the wad during the ystate of use, and the other channel to feed air into the fountain for facilitating'thedischarge of fuel. The former channel b, is placed below the level of the fuel during the state of use and the other channel f, above the said level, as shown in Fig. 5, while, on turning the box for a quarter of a full turn, see Fig. 6, the channel b, is placed out of reach of the Fig. 5 indicates the state of use and Fig. 6 the state of repose. .l

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 I have shown another modificationlof my invention, which consists in obtaining the same effect, as de- Iscribed before, viz. economy of fuel, without reversing the position" of the burner or of the whole box. This modlficatlon 1s a further development of that shown in Figs. 5

and 6; it consists` in adding a slide-valve i, to

the'mputh of the channel b, opening into the wad-chamber. The said slide-valve z', pref- 1- same might as well be opened by hand or by any suitable device.l

. As will be seen in the drawings, a small channel b is provided in the partition h between the fountain a and the wad-chamber c, the Said channel b being placed at the lower end of said partition, to allow of a ready passage of the fuel when the slide-valve z', which covers and shuts said channel. is withdrawn. The said valve carries at its forward end a nose n, which is made to enter into an aperture or notch within the front wall of the Wad-chamber c'by means of a spring k, one end of which 1s attaehedto said/wall, the other end being fixed to the slide-valve i. When the cover m of the box is put on the said snuglyfitting cover presses the said nose 'n of the slide-valve back into the chamber c, whereby the said spring lo becomes stretched, as shown in Fig. 7 Qn removing the cover m, see Fig. 8, the said spring 1c will draw the nose n into the aperture of the wall and the valve-end e' of the slide-valve will uncover the channel b, to let the fluid pass.

It will be readily understood, that the form of the slide-valve shown in the-drawings, is not at all essential; any other valve, for instance a flap-valve, would do the same performance. Also the valve could be opened or shut by the agency of the hand.

A lamp of this kind may be safely carried in the pocket without any care whether one or the other of its ends be laced upperor lowermost, as the passage o lfuel through the channel b can only occur after'openin the cover m. Besides the economy of fue obtained, the lamp will alsovbe kept clean of any escape of fuel.

A wick or porous material may be placed into the channel or before vthe .same to obtain a slow passage of the fuel, if desired.

For using this construction. as a lamp burning for a considerable space of time, it will be preferable to provide lmeans for facilitating the passage offuel from the fountain a to the wad-chamber; such means will bestconsi'st in establishing an entrance of air within the fountain a.v A construction of this kind isishown, as an example,

-6`5, inFigs. 10, 11,' and 12, correspondingA to Figs. 7, 8, and 9. It is similar to the construction of these latter figures and Inaterially differs only in that, besides the channel b for the discharge of fuel, another chan nel o, is provided within the partition h. in the opposite corner of the chamber a, to which channel o correspondsl another channel p, within the slide of the valve i. In the state, of repose, when the valve i keeps the channel b shut'up, the other channel o will be equally shut up and closed by the slide of the valve, andwhen said slide is made to uncover the channel b, either automatically, as described before, or by hand, the channel p will be placed over the channel o, thus allowing air to enter into the fountain and help to expel the fuel into the Wad-chamber.

In the drawings, both channels b, and o, are opened and closed simultaenously by one and the same slide containing the valve i and the channel p, but, of course, separate valves for both channels b and 0 might be provided and operated by separate means of any kind.

The second valve p, may be left away in case of the channel o being so lodged above vthe level of the fuel to exclude the passage of fuelthrough said channelor in case of the channel being protected through a sieve or perforated plate, such as g in Figs. 5 and 6. The said channel o, besides, may be provided in any other wall or side of the fountain a, the only requirement being that, to permit the entrance ofair into said fountain.

As has been stated before, the shape and construction of the tinder-box may vary' within wide degrees, if only two separate chambers are provided, one of them serving as a fountain for the fluid fuel and -the other containing the wick destined .to be lighted. Also the mode and means for light ing the flame may vary at pleasure, though, I prefer to construct the tinder-box as one to be lighted by pyrophorous means.

Instead of closing the tinder-box by a cover, such as m, Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7., 8, 10, and 11, any other covering means, such for instance, as a hinged cap or a slide-plate, might be employed which may equally be constructed and arranged to automatically operate the covering and uncovering of the channels b and p'.

I claim as my invention:

1. An improved tincler-box containing a fluid fuel, the same embodying'i a receptacle for the fuel, a burner, a wie containing fibrous material and a reticulated medium in position to prevent thef fluid from being thrown on the end of the wick of the burner if the latter is shaken.

2. An improved tinder-box containing a fluid fuel and comprising a reversible burner, f fibrous material and a wick having one end a chamber extending thereinto, saidburner embodying a solid bottom and a reticulated. bottom thro h which latter the wick extends.

3. improved tinder-box containing a fluid fuel, comprising a reversible burner in which the fountain holds a wick passing through said fountain and through a perforated bottom of the same above the solid bottom.

4. An improved tinder-box containing a fluid fuel-fountainz comprising a fuel chambei', ibrous material for coperation with the wick, and a wick-chamber juxtaposed to the fountain and a wick passing through the fuel chamber and into said fibrous material, said wick chamber communicating with said fountain through a channel so 1ocated that only in the state of use the fuel can pass through said channel.

A11 improved tinder-box containing a fluid fuel-fountain, comprising a fuel chamber, fibrous material for coperation with the wick, and a wick-chamber juxtaposed to the fountain, da wick Vpassin a discharge-channel from the said fountain through the fuel chamber and into said li rous material,l

into the wick-chamber, said channel being so located that only in the state of use the fuel can pass through said channel and an entrance channel leading air into the fountain.

6. An improved tinder-box containing) a" fluid fuel-fountain, com rising a revers burner havin a wick-c amber juxtaposed to the fountain, a discharge-channel from the said fountain into the wick-chamber and means for automatically closing said chan-V l nel on closing the tinder-box.

7. An improved tinder-box containing a Huid fuel-fountain, comprising a reversible burner havin a wick-chamber juxtaposed to the fountaln, a discharge-phannel from the said fountain into the Wick-chamber, av channel feeding air into the fountain and means for automatically closing both channels on closing the cover of the tinder-box.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of twov Witnesses.`

KARL WIEDEN. Witnesses: I Y

KARL VAUsT, CARL MLLER. 

